The Tale of a Century \\ SoraMafu

>> Fifteen <<

Amatsuki and Mafu watched Soraru's retreating form as he disappeared into the crowd. "What was that all about?" Amatsuki mumbled.

"Do you think his fortune was bad?" Mafu asked.

"I hope not, but for now, we should go on," Amatsuki said. "Despite saying that it'll only take a minute, it's probably going to take a while."

Amatsuki took Mafu's hand and pulled him along. "We can explore the food stands around here. I wouldn't want to stray too far from Soraru, so he won't be lost when he's done with whatever."

Mafu's eyes were fixed on the spot where Soraru disappeared to. "Yeah..." he said.

After exploring around a little bit, Amatsuki and Mafu settled down on a bench. Amatsuki leaned back, closed his eyes, and sighed. There was no conversation between the two boys.

In an attempt to break the silence, Mafu spoke up, "You know what you two were talking about the other day? A boy named Hashiyan..?"

Amatsuki opened his eyes, "Yes."

"Can you tell me about him?"

Amatsuki straightened up and bent over so his elbows were on his knees. "I'm sorry, Mafumafu-kun," he apologized. "I can't talk to you about that."

"Why? Weren't you disagreeing with Soraru-san? Didn't you give up too easily?"

"Mafumafu-kun..." Amatsuki trailed off. "Soraru.... Soraru doesn't yell."

"What do you mean?"

"For Soraru to raise his voice like that..."

"No, I already told you something happened that morning, and--"

"Mafumafu-kun! You don't get it. I've been with Soraru since before we started school, and there's been many times when he had the opportunity to yell, but he wasn't even close. Mafumafu-kun, up until now, I've never heard him yell. Not even once."

Mafu stared at Amatsuki, speechless after his mini rant. That's when he noticed it, the uneasiness in his eyes. "It makes me afraid of what we're getting ourselves into," Amatsuki whispered.

"Amatsuki-san..."

Mafu watched Amatsuki close his eyes and take a deep breath. He leaned back on the bench again. When Amatsuki opened his eyes, the uneasiness disappeared. "Sorry about that Mafumafu-kun, I got a little carried away there."

"No... it's fine."

"Anyway, what do you think Soraru's doing?"

"Amatsuki-san--"

"You don't have to be formal," Amatsuki cut in. "It feels weird. We're going to be classmates and friends, so 'Amatsuki-san' sounds too formal."

Mafu thought for a moment, "Is... Ama-chan okay?"

"Sure. Can I call you Mafu-kun, too?"

"Okay."

That was when Mafu saw a white speck drift down onto the bench. More followed, and Mafu lifted his hand. "It's snowing..." he said.

"Yeah."

And although the uneasiness disappeared from Amatsuki's eyes, it didn't disappear from Mafu's chest.

There was something going on.

|*|*|

"You're here."

"Ah, I didn't know you'd be here, too!"

"Was this on purpose?"

"No... Hm? You did the omikuji?"

"That's none of your business."

"What'd you get?"

"That's... Hey--!"

"Hmm... Future Blessing, huh?"

"Don't look at other people's things so casually."

"You're still mad about that?"

"If that doesn't seem clear."

"Haaaah... I thought you would've gotten over that already."

"Stay away from us. Understand?"

"Of course, Your Highness."

"Che."

"You know, this isn't the best way to go about it."

"..."

"Make sure you're not making a mistake, Soraru. I'm warning you."

"... I don't need your warnings."